A star-obsessed city that had lost its baseball sizzle is suddenly relevant again, thanks to Manny Ramirez—the new leading man who put the Dodgers one step closer to a possible made-for-Hollywood World Series matchup

All the money in the world can't buy a Stanley Cup, so free agent Marian Hossa turned down upward of $80 million for one shot at a title with mighty Detroit. He can get the rich multiyear contract later

SI.com

This week, as theALCS heats up and Phillies second baseman Chase Utley and Dodgers pitcher DerekLowe battle in the NLCS, check out previews of both series from BaseballProspectus as well as daily coverage from SI.com. Plus ...

• Five Cuts fromTom Verducci

• Daily Scoopfrom Jon Heyman

• Breakdowns ofevery game by special contributor Cliff Corcoran

MORE ANALYSIS BYWRITERS LEE JENKINS, ALBERT CHEN AND JOHN DONOVAN AT SI.COM/MLB.

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PETER KING

Inside the NFLAfter a wild Week 5, a look ahead to all the games in Week 6SI.com/king

What the DownturnMeansWith the financial crisis spreading, how will the average fan afford tickets tothe new, $1.6 billion Yankee Stadium? SI reporter Pablo S. Torre's essayincludes analysis from top economists and interviews with the holders of seasontickets. Also learn how the market instability will affect the NBA, the NHL,NASCAR, college football and high school sports.

AND WHAT of AlexKarras, the old rogue, the great Lion in the final years of his extraordinaryand tumultuous career? This year he turned up at training camp a surprisinglychanged figure. True, there were the usual preseason rumbles and observations.Karras is a man who speaks his mind and is frequently occupied without-of-the-way matters: He ran a golf tournament to benefit cystic fibrosis inFlint, Mich., last June, during which a cannon was shot off from time to timebehind the first tee to keep, as he put it, "the golfers on theirtoes"; there were his usual salary complaints; a few digs at commissionerPete Rozelle; a threat to give up football and retire in Iowa; an appearance ina weird TV commercial in which he picked up a small sports car and held itupside down to drain its gas tank into a bucket; and his admission on TheTonight Show of his boyhood terror of playing against older kids who had"hairy bodies."